Ladrillo has certainly left its imprint on Murcia. Everywhere you turn, there's brick. The narrow streets of its towns are clogged with anonymous apartment and office buildings, cheap brick facades in hues that range from brownish to puke-orange. Even the expansive openness of Murcia's arid terrain offers little to rest the eyes on apart from terracotta drab, only sporadically interrupted by white outlet malls, gleaming plastic tarps of factory farms, or rare green patches of grape vines, olive trees and orange groves.
Spain's real-estate debacle and Murcia's brand of ladrillo-driven development are only part of the backdrop for the latest project of Madrid-based architects selgascano: an 18,500-square-metre seaside auditorium and conference hall in the port city of Cartagena, Murcia. Almost a decade passed from when the architects won the commission until the building opened to the public in late 2011, after facing numerous budgetary, construction and political hurdles. The protracted construction period certainly might have had its drawbacks, but it also provided a rare occasion for the architects to stick to their usual gutsiness and painstaking attention to detail, regardless of the scale and the demands of the project.
![Sitting stark and unassuming at the end of the kilometre-long
Paseo Alfonso XII seafront boulevard, the building blends into
the burly scenery of the old shipping port. Sitting stark and unassuming at the end of the kilometre-long
Paseo Alfonso XII seafront boulevard, the building blends into
the burly scenery of the old shipping port.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_6164_2.DO120113005.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The upper levels are drenched
in a permanent sunset thanks to two 15x60-metre orange coloured
ETFE sheets anchored to a steel frame that create a soft,
billowing intermediate facade. The upper levels are drenched
in a permanent sunset thanks to two 15x60-metre orange coloured
ETFE sheets anchored to a steel frame that create a soft,
billowing intermediate facade.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_2441_3.DO120113001.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Instead of worrying about defining a personal style, the architects revisit and replay many of their signature technical processes and aesthetic concerns, producing unique results with each reiteration.
![The double facade of translucent extruded polycarb
panels exposes the building’s metallic structure and adds to the
game of transparencies and tonalities created by injecting tiny
dabs of neon paint into each piece, with different colours and
intensities. The double facade of translucent extruded polycarb
panels exposes the building’s metallic structure and adds to the
game of transparencies and tonalities created by injecting tiny
dabs of neon paint into each piece, with different colours and
intensities.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_9977_4.DO120113016.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![At the end of the main hall, beyond the plexiglass staircases,
the entrances to the large auditorium are sheltered by ridged,
spongy, reef-like concrete walls. At the end of the main hall, beyond the plexiglass staircases,
the entrances to the large auditorium are sheltered by ridged,
spongy, reef-like concrete walls.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_1315_5.DO120113013.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The main amphitheatre
of the congress centre is
also clad with a plastic
texture. The main amphitheatre
of the congress centre is
also clad with a plastic
texture.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_9893_6.DO120113007.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The architects
envisaged the auditorium as
“a place of aquatic music.” The architects
envisaged the auditorium as
“a place of aquatic music.”](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_5688_7.DO120113011.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The convention center's main amphitheater. The convention center's main amphitheater.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_3033_8.DO120113006.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Mario Ballesteros,
Critic and architectural editor
![The building,
which on the outside appears as a
defined volume, is eroded on the
inside by irregular form. The building,
which on the outside appears as a
defined volume, is eroded on the
inside by irregular form.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_6171_9.DO120113014.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Design Team: Lara Resco, Carlos Chacón, José de Villar, José Jaraiz, Lorena del Río, Blas Antón, Miguel San Millán, Julián Fernandez, Beatriz Quintana, Jaehoon Yook, Jeongwoo Choi, Laura Culiañez, Bárbara Bardín
Interior Design, Architect of Record: selgascano
Assistants: Antonio Mármol, Joaquín Cárceles, Rául Jiménez
Site area: 5.628 mq
Total built area: 18.500 mq
Design phase: 2002
Construction: 2006—11/2011
Cost: 34.5 million €
Structural Engineering: FHECOR
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineering: JG
Acoustic Engineering: ARAU ACUSTICA
Textile Engineering: LASTRA Y ZORRILLA
General Contractors: DRAGADOS, INTERSA
Plastic Manufacturers: POLIMERTECNIC, SABIC
Auditorium Seating: FIGUERAS
Floor Manufacturer: PRIALPAS
Lighting Manufacturers: IDEALUX, TALLERES ZAMORA
Wall Manufacturer: ATA AISLAMIENTOS TECNICOS AGROALIMENTARIOS
![A broken line cuts out the
aperture of the reception
desk in the translucent lateral
front. In the foreground is the
metal frame of the facades,
wind-braced and clad with
retro-illuminated plastic pipes. A broken line cuts out the
aperture of the reception
desk in the translucent lateral
front. In the foreground is the
metal frame of the facades,
wind-braced and clad with
retro-illuminated plastic pipes.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_4006_10.DO120113009.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The outside patio. The outside patio.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2012/01/10/a-new-glow-in-boomtown/big_371255_8089_11.DO120113015.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
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